Combination of sequential and parallel projects

Usage Questions
1

I’m quite new to organizing my tasks with GTD, and just started using projects at all yesterday. So I do have a few questions about them.

Combination of sequential and parallel projects

Already in my first tries with projects, I came across a few examples where I see sequential as well as parallel actions. Two examples:

Examples

Writing a letter

I have a doctor’s appointment and when I scheduled it, the doctor gave me the task to write down my symptoms history. I understand writing this letter as a sequential project like this:

  1. Write the letter (label “PC”, since I write it here)
  2. Print the letter (labels “home”, “phone” and “PC”, since my printer is at home, but I can use either my PC or my phone to print the document if it is saved on my NAS)
  3. Put the letter in an envelope and put a stamp on it (label “home”)
  4. Send the letter (label “outside”)

Now, I forgot if I should really send the letter or just bring it with me to the appointment. So another project task would be: “Call the doctor and ask if I should send the letter or just bring it with me to the appointment.” I can still do tasks 1 on and two, though before I made the call. The call is only relevant to clarify if tasks 3 and 4 are necessary.

Terminate my lease contract

Let’s say I want to terminate my lease contract. The steps (as actions in a sequential project) would be the same as in the first example:

  1. Write the letter (label “PC”, since I write it here)
  2. Print the letter (labels “home”, “phone” and “PC”, since my printer is at home, but I can use either my PC or my phone to print the document if it is saved on my NAS)
  3. Put the letter in an envelope and put a stamp on it (label “home”)
  4. Send the letter (label “outside”)

Now, being a nice guy, I want to call my landlord before I sent him the letter, to inform him personally in talking. So I need another task “Call my landlord and tell him about the lease termination”. This task must be done before or parallel to the first three, but before the fourth one.

How to organize it in Everdo?

I read on the forum, that Andrei doesn’t want to add this feature because it would introduce a lot of complexity and I can see that. However, what is the best alternative? How would you organize the tasks?

I could, for instance, create the projects with tasks 1 to 4 as above and then create a separate task (“make the call”). However, then I wouldn’t know how to handle these issues:

  • How can action 3 (first example) or 4 (second example) be on hold before I make the phone call? (Perhaps, I could put the call right before those two tasks, but the truth is, I could also just make the call before I even start task 1.)
  • How can I tie the project together with the task?
    • I’ve seen the recommendation of using labels for that, but I assume the number of labels would grow unmanageably big with many projects like that. In fact, of the four projects I put into Everdo yesterday, 3 are of the above nature.
    • Is it even necessary to group the project and the “call” task? From the GTD book, I figure yes because they all work towards one goal. In terms of usefulness, I can’t really see why at the moment. But I guess, that’s true for every parallel project. So why do we need parallel projects?

Another idea I just had is (which feels more like a workaround, though): Add another task to sequential project (right before number 3 or 4, respectively) which is “Check if tasks ‘Make a call’ is already done.” For that it would be useful to be able to link to the “Make a call” task from the additional project task.

Paper-based organization for “complex” projects

I don’t see the examples above as “complex” by themselves, but they are examples of what I mean by “complex” here anyway. :slight_smile: Andrei wrote somewhere on the forum, that he uses a pen-and-paper flowchart for complex projects. That sounds interesting. However, I don’t really understand, how this analog flowchart goes together with the tasks and projects in Everdo.

Let’s say, you create a pen-and-paper flowchart for the projects above.

  • How do you create tasks and projects in Everdo?
  • How do you reference the Everdo tasks/project from the paper and vice-versa.
  • How do you store the paper to easily retrieve it when you work on the project?
2

First off all I understand that you made up simple (to simple? ) examples.

In my experience a GTD type project seldomly really needs this kind of (over) planning. In fact most of the time it’s probably a waste of time.
Why? If you do a regular weekly review, you always are setup with the best next actions for your projects, to intuitively chose the best option.
On the other hand, if you don’t do regular weekly reviews, the next actions plans are outdated and useless as well.
The kind of plan you described, is better placed as project/action support material. E.g. as quick plan / checklist in the project notes field.

Either way, one or two next actions usually are enough to get you started and on a roll for a project.
Maybe you glimpse at the project notes a few times, to see how to move forward. Then when you need to stop your work on that project, of course you need to set the next step (next action) as an anchor, so you can easily resume where you stopped.

You might intend to just do the first next action but as you get into the flow, you finish the rest of the project without even noticing.

I admit that the level of planning you need to get peace of mind about something, heavily depends on what type of person you are. More on the chaotic and visonary or organized and micro managing end of things.

3

I tend to agree with what @manu said.

Paper is one option. Lately I just use spreadsheets as part of project support files and for higher-level planning.

Manually during a weekly review. First update plans, then create necessary projects in Everdo.

By title.

This is a downside of paper. But for a digital file you can link it from Everdo.